The End of a Landmark

As we near one of my favorite holidays, I've been reflecting on what I am thankful for this year and as trivial as this may seem to some, I am thankful for a normal amount of leaf raking this fall, which makes it fun again!

The huge old sycamore in our yard spread it's 70 foot plus crown of leaves over our yard, our neighbor's yard and house on one side, and the road on the other. The seemingly innocent tree presided over the entire neighborhood with the air of one who belonged. It did belong, but the disease that had overtaken it did not. Most positively did not. Anthracnoses was not a welcome intruder... it made the stately tree lose it's leaves ALL summer AND fall. The dust that the disease produced was enough to induce asthmatic coughing fits. After debating for more than a year, we finally decided that the tree had to go. It was sad to see a neighborhood landmark go (the original land owners' son planted the tree in the 30's), but we have never once regretted our decision. It took 3 full days of a skilled tree trimmer, a cherry picker truck, and finally a crane to get the sucker down, but we did it, without loss of life or limb!




This cartoon was featured in one of our local papers a few years ago and I clipped it out to bring a bit of humor to our days of raking the myriads of trash bags with face masks on... Now it just makes me thankful that I don't have to rake more than the usual amount of leaves, at the right time of year!! :)


ln~